Below are listed the performances, rehearsals, and recording sessions where Ned Lagin is known to have performed with the Grateful Dead, or with Phil Lesh, Jerry Garcia, David Crosby, and others. These occurred in the years between 1970 to 1975. This list is thought to be accurate but remains incomplete.

Ned has reviewed the list and added notes. Since the interview that was broadcast on February 3, 2001 (transcript at http://www.gdhour.com/transcripts/lagin.010203.html ) and his published interviews with David Gans ("Conversations with the Dead") in August, 2001, no other interviews have been published. He has received and listened to recordings of many but not all relevant performances, performances which he had not heard at the time of the interviews (11-05-70, 11-08-70, 11-21-70, 02-18-71, 04-8-71, and other concert recordings). Some complete shows (02-18-71, 04-8-71) which he had played, and which he only identified minimally or partially in the Gans interview as the performances and/or only songs he thought remarkable are more fully documented here. Where he did not remember, or was not sure about shows or other events, he qualified or asked that those listings be eliminated.

"Seastones" recording, mixing, mastering, and practice sessions for the period 1970-1975 are mostly undocumented and further research is needed. Most of the "Seastones" sessions and electronic jams at Mickey Hart's ranch in the summers of 1970, 1971, 1972, and 1973 were recorded. These are presumed to be lost.

Recordings of Grateful Dead performances were graciously supplied to Ned from David Gans, Ihor Slabicky, Noah Weiner, Michael Parrish, and David Finney.

05-xx-70 - Jerry, Phil, and Mickey attend a concert of 8-track electronic music composed and performed by Ned at the MIT Chapel, Cambridge, MA.

MIT Chapel (photo by Melvin Backstrom)

Summer, 1970 - numerous jams throughout the summer, including at Mickey Hart's ranch, the Slide Ranch, and some studio rehearsals; members of the Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Crosby Stills and Nash, Quicksilver Messenger Service, and New Riders of the Purple Sage.

Two business cards from Ned. The telephone numbers are no longer affiliated with the Grateful Dead.

Jerry (electric, acoustic, and pedal steel guitar) and Ned (piano) play together alone on multiple occasions at Jerry Garcia's house and at Mickey's. Jerry teaches Ned, through singing and playing, a number of Grateful Dead tunes including new ones for the "American Beauty" album. Ned and Jerry jam on "Dark Star", on one and two chord pieces, on sound textures, and play and improvise on pop and jazz songs, using Ned's fake books (Ned on piano, Jerry on acoustic, electric, and pedal steel guitars). Jerry refers Ned to the piano playing of Floyd Cramer, and to bluegrass players. Ned shows Jerry (and they work through) transcriptions (Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, John Coltrane, Thelonius Monk, Dave Brubeck, Bill Evans, and others), scores by Mahler, Copland, Ives, Gershwin, Ravel, Debussy, Webern, and Pendereki (and others), his Berklee School of Music notes on reharmonization, as well as his research on Renaissance music (Obrecht, Okeghem), all of which he also shares with Phil. Ned plays Bill Evans' "Blue in Green" and "Peace Piece" on piano for Jerry. These musical interchanges between Ned, Jerry, and including Phil and Mickey also occur during the summers of 1971-1973.

David Crosby and Ned play together (acoustic guitar, piano) at David's house ("The Lee Shore" and other tunes). David Crosby plays "Songs of the Humpback Whale", Roger Payne's LP of whale songs, for Ned and Phil.

Ned records his first 16-track music at Mickey Hart's studio - a composition of multiple over-layered tracks of solo piano, inspired by the Bill Evans album "Conversations With Myself". He also starts early "Seastones" 16-track recording.

08-xx-70 - "American Beauty" sessions in August and September 1970 at the Wally Heider Studio in San Francisco. Ned plays piano on early takes of several songs. The only piano track of his that is used on the album is the acoustic piano on "Candyman". If the undated outtake of "Candyman" listed below can be dated to between June and September, 1970, then it is Ned playing the acoustic piano. http://archive.org/download/gd1971-02-01.sbd.Studio.Rehearsal.120486.flac16/13.mp3

xx-xx-70 - Ned played acoustic piano on some rehearsal sessions for David Crosby's solo album "If I Could Only Remember My Name".

Fall, 1970 - Ned returns to MIT.

11-05-70 - Grateful Dead at the Capitol Theater, Port Chester, NY (Thursday) - This concert is the first time that Ned plays on stage with the Grateful Dead: "The Other One" > "Dark Star" > "St. Stephen". Ned describes it: "The "Dark Star" was a very abstract feedback-oriented one early on, then beautiful. It was very much more "Seastones"-esque than other "Dark Stars", characteristic of some of the earlier summer jamming." https://archive.org/details/gd70-11-05.aud.warner.17182.sbeok.shnf

Bill, Mickey, Pigpen, Ned, Bob, Phil, and Jerry at Boston University on November 21, 1970 (photo by Jeff Albertson).

Jerry, Phil, Bill, Mickey, Ned, Bob, and Pigpen at Boston University on November 21, 1970 (photo by Jeff Albertson)

Note from Ned: In 1970 / 1971, because of PA input limitations and/or whoever was mixing, it is hard for him to be heard. But there was no conscious effort to be absent, and not recorded. There was no reason not to record him if there were available mix channels, and he had no reason not to be recorded. Until the 1974 tours when Jerry always wanted him on his side of the stage, there was no typical setup for the times he played (Pigpen's organ or his own keyboards). If Ned didn't have monitor speakers close so he could tell how loud he was in the mix, he was very careful, playing more diminutively until he found his bearings out of respect for the spirit of the music, the band, and the show.

Note from Ned: He was sensitive to when earlier TC (Tom Constanten) joined the band and unfortunately affected Pigpen's role. So Ned wanted always to leave space for Pigpen, who generously gave musical space for Ned. And as the sixth player in the mix he held back, blending in and not standing out, not cluttering but helping to shape and energize.

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1971

02-18-71 - Grateful Dead at the Capitol Theater, Port Chester, NY - Ned plays for the entire concert. He played sparsely or sat out on a very few tunes because the band seemed not in tune (with his keys), some tunes did not need his keyboard (it was by his own choice), and also he wanted to leave space for Pigpen. In earlier discussions, Ned talked only minimally about his playing on 02-18-71, mentioning only a few of the tunes he really liked and remembered without having a set list or recording.

Ned plays clavichord and Farfisa organ, with Uni-Vibe (Jerry loan) and Cry Baby wah-wah (Jerry gift) pedals; Ned played through two of Jerry's spare Fender Twin Reverb amps. These had the original tie-dyed speaker covers and were mic'd but because of feedback there was a direct box transformer line output. Ned was surrounded (virtually buried) in baffling, equipment cases, and padding by Ramrod (and Jerry) to tame feedback problems from having to mic and amplify the very quiet clavichord.

Especially notable is "Dark Star" > "Wharf Rat" > "Dark Star" > "Beautiful Jam" > "Dark Star" > "Me and My Uncle". https://archive.org/details/gd1971-02-18.sbd.miller.111793.flac16 Ned did not know until the David Gans interview in 2001 that later this was called "Beautiful Jam". The "Beautiful Jam" is included in the "So Many Roads (1965-1995)" box set on disc two, track 2.

This is the first time that the Grateful Dead performed "Bertha", "Wharf Rat", "Johnny B. Goode", and "Playing in the Band". The afternoon of the concert, back stage during set up, Jerry told Ned he had new songs they had not played before. First he talked through "Bertha". Then "Wharf Rat", which he played for Ned quietly on guitar and singing, showing him the changes (chords) and vocal so he could play it that evening coming out of "Dark Star". A little later, Phil came up to him, told him about "Wharf Rat", and talked him through it, but with no instruments. He didn't know Jerry had already done it, but Ned was happy to have more info. Bob asked Ned to sit back for the first part of "Playing in the Band" and the vocals until he got it.

Jerry sometimes fedback through the sounding board and brass strings of Ned's clavichord as did Ned himself; the feedback character comes from the sweetness of the brass clavichord strings and acoustic wood soundboard.

02-xx-71 - Capitol Theater, Port Chester, NY - Two acoustic duo sessions during the day(s) with Jerry on acoustic guitar and Ned on clavichord. These were recorded on four-track tape by Bob Matthews and Betty Cantor and are either now lost, in the Grateful Dead archive(s), or with other Jerry Garcia tapes. The sessions included some musical elements from the first night's performance.

04-08-71 - Grateful Dead at the Boston Music Hall, Boston, MA - Ned plays the entire concert. Once again, on a few tunes he played minimally or sat out because the band seemed not in tune with his piano, some tunes did not need his keyboard (his own choice), and also he wanted to leave space for Pigpen. Ned played a new Wurlitzer (black) electric piano, with a Cry Baby wah-wah (an earlier Jerry gift), a Uni-Vibe (Jerry's), and a Tonebender (early distortion box), through two of Jerry's spare Fender Twin Reverb amps with original tie-dyed speaker covers for stage monitors, and there was a direct box transformer line output. Ned's piano's position changed between the first set and the second, and again during the second set (the thought was to do a sequence of acoustic tunes starting with "Cumberland Blues" but that was abandoned after the band was reminded about the amount of playing time remaining before the Boston City curfew took effect. https://archive.org/details/gd1971-04-08.sbd.cantor.gmb.96627.flac16 or http://www.archive.org/details/gd1971-04-08.sbd.unknown.14397.shnf

As with 02-18-71 in earlier discussions, Ned had also talked only minimally about his playing on 04-08-71 - "it was a very high night for all - on stage and off" - and mentioning only a few of the tunes he really liked and remembered playing. Earlier discussions may have confused this night with another concert (and another "Dark Star") in Boston, 09-16-72, when he joined the band on stage for only "Dark Star" > "Brokedown Palace".

Set 1 - Truckin', Bertha, Next Time You See Me, Playing in the Band, Loser, Beat It On Down The Line, I Second That Emotion, Sugar Magnolia, China Cat Sunflower > I Know You Rider, Casey Jones

During the break Jerry asks Ned what he would like to play - he asks for "Alligator", "The Eleven", and "Dark Star". They do "Dark Star".

Ned, Phil, Bill, Jerry, Bob, and Pigpen playing "Dark Star" at Boston Music Hall on April 8, 1971 (photo by Jeff Albertson)

The band playing "Dark Star" at Boston Music Hall on April 8, 1971(photo by Jeff Albertson)

xx-xx-71 - During the summer of 1971, recording sessions continue on "Seastones with Jerry, Phil, Spencer Dryden, Mickey, David Crosby, and Grace Slick.

Jerry teaches Ned more tunes; they jam alone at Mickey's and Jerry's. David Crosby and Ned play together (acoustic guitar, piano) at David's house.

xx-xx-71 - During the summer, Ned plays in a number of jam sessions with Jerry, Phil, Mickey, Bob, Billy, David Crosby, John Cipollina, members of the New Riders of the Purple Sage, Spencer Dryden, and Barry Melton, among others.

8-21-71 was a local radio broadcast designated and promoted as "A Day In The Country" (ADITC) at Mickey Hart's ranch barn. Musicians from several bands played most of the day together in varying configurations. Musicians from the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Quicksilver, David Crosby, Barry Melton, New Riders, and many others, and Ned.

According to Ned: "While I had already met several of those in attendance, jammed with some, and already worked on Seastones with some (and played baseball with some), I got to see and meet many others from the Bay Area, musicians and families. Very high day for everyone. One of the very memorable days."

According to Ned: "Phil had all the tapes, and we listened to all the recordings in his living room. Phil made reel-to-reel and cassette copies for himself and for me. My tape box labeling was written by Phil. Phil listed on the tape box only a few of the musicians before tiring and "quitting" the labeling process."

"I played piano or organ throughout the day." From memory he lists the following musicians: "Jerry Garcia, Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, Mickey Hart, David Crosby, David Freiberg, Barry Melton, John Cippolina, Robbie Stokes, Jorma Kaukonen, Jack Casady, Paul Kantner, maybe Merl Saunders. Three or four or more guitarists playing together, two basses. Most out of tune with piano and organ at times and worst by the end. David Freiberg sometimes played organ, as well as bass. Some thought Nicky Hopkins was there but I have no memory of him, and believe at the time he was with the Rolling Stones. This day exemplifies the spirit of the music and comradeship of the times that I had experienced first in the summer of 1970, then in the summers of 1971,1972 and 1973. And the spirit of the times when Seastones was recorded."

08-14-71 - Grateful Dead at the Berkeley Community Theatre, Berkeley, CA - During Set II, Ned plays on "Truckin'" > "Drums" > "The Other One", "Me and Bobby McGee", "Happy Birthday" for David Crosby, and the two encores: "Johnny B. Goode" and "Uncle John's Band". https://archive.org/details/gd1971-08-14.sbd.130871.MrBill.flac16

Jerry and Ned play and jam together. David Crosby and Ned play together (acoustic guitar, piano) at David's house.

xx-xx-72 - In the summer of 1972, "Seastones" recordings continue. Sessions with Jerry, David Crosby, Grace Slick, David Freiberg, Spencer Dryden, Mickey, and Phil. The first acoustic mix of part of "Seastones is done at Mickey's studio.

09-13-72 - The first "Seastones" partial mix (dated 09-13-72) is submitted by Jerry, Phil, and Ned to Clive Davis. In a subsequent meeting they all attended at Davis's Columbia Records office in New York City, he rejected the album on the review and advice of other synthesizer recording artists at Columbia. The back of the tape box lists the September 13, 1972 "Seastones" mix date and recording information.

Tape box for the September 13, 1972 mix of "Seastones."

09-16-72 - Grateful Dead at the Boston Music Hall, Boston, MA - During Set II, Ned played on "Dark Star" > "Brokedown Palace". Ned played a Wurlitzer electric piano and Crybaby wah-wah when he joined the band on stage for "Dark Star", and after which he and his piano exited the stage. This was the first and only time prior to 1974 that he sat in with Keith Godchaux playing acoustic piano. https://archive.org/details/gd72-09-16.psbd.unknown.6683.sbeok.shnf

Fall, 1972 - Ned returns to Cambridge, MA.

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1973

04-xx-73 - Ned moves to California.

04-xx-73 - Mickey's Barn Studio - first playing electric and electronic music together as a group; Ned, Jerry, Phil, and Mickey played all night.

xx-xx-73 - Ned and Phil played one night all night alone at Mickey's in quad - sometimes with their instruments playing themselves with feedback while Ned and Phil went into control room and then back to their instruments.

Jerry and Ned play and jam together alone. David Crosby and Ned play together (acoustic guitar, piano) at David's house.

xx-xx-73 - Recording (on 4 track, 2 track, and cassette tape) and practice sessions at Ned's apartment in Fairfax with Jerry, David Crosby, and Phil. Some of these were recorded; they are presumed lost.

11-28-73 - Palace of Fine Arts, San Francisco, CA - Billed on the poster as "An Experiment in Quadraphonic Sound" with Jerry Garcia and Mickey Hart; however, Ned performed the entire concert (although not on stage), and Phil did the live quad mix. The booking and publicity started before all had committed to the concert - this explains why there has been some confusion as to who played and how this related to "Seastones". Included as part of this show was the first "Seastones" live/tape performance in quad. This was a partial one, using pre-recorded "Seastones" tracks and the live musicians' performance, and some other pre-recorded tapes by Ned. Ned played an Arp Odyssey for most of the show seated at the mix board centered in the audience with Phil next to him mixing in quad. https://archive.org/details/gd73-11-28.sbd-seastones.finney.968.sbefail.shnf

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1974

xx-xx-74 - Recording (4 track and 2 track tape) and practice sessions at Ned's apartment in Fairfax with Jerry, David Crosby, and Phil. Some of these were recorded; they are presumed lost.

xx-xx-74 - Recording sessions continue on "Seastones".

04-xx-74 - Grateful Dead album "From the Mars Hotel" sessions - Ned plays an Arp Odyssey synthesizer on "Unbroken Chain". The album was recorded at the CBS Studios in San Francisco from March 30, 1974 to April 19, 1974.

1974 Summer Tour - At most of the concerts, Ned and Phil perform together ("Ned and Phil") during the set break between Set I and II. Some of these "Ned and Phil" sets segue into the full Grateful Dead performing. Some sets include only Jerry. As yet not documented in the following listings are some "Ned and Phil" sets that included Jerry, but not the full Grateful Dead. Some "Ned and Phil" sets were partial performances of "Seastones". Ned plays a Fender Rhodes 88 electric piano, an Arp Odyssey synthesizer, and an Emu polyphonic analog synthesizer with computer control.

Ned's band ID badge that was used for the 1974 tours

In 1974, Ned began playing through the vocal system. It was considered the best part of the entire Wall of Sound PA. It had the second highest column of 15-inch bass speakers, second only to Phil. There were 240 speakers total including the center cluster, a 4-way crossover, and 9600 watts of power provided by sixteen Macintosh 300 amps. Ned could be as loud as a jet plane and actually had the capability of lifting the entire stage fully loaded by playing a burst of subsonic notes, which he did a couple of times. When he held a note the speakers created a breeze!

However, there was a switch to select between his 4-channel quad feed and the vocal mic mix. When band members were singing through the system, the vocal system switch was set to the vocal mics and Ned was switched just to on-stage monitors. Sometimes the switch back to him was forgotten (for awhile), and sometimes 2 of the 4 channels of Ned's quad feed were lost in the vocal system input mix even when the switch was set to Ned.

Note from Ned: Many of the "Ned and Phil" performances have missing audio channels - sometimes two of Ned's four quad live channels or the computer rhythm output, sometimes Phil's feed to Ned's synthesizer console for scored processing, and sometimes pre-recorded tapes (basic tracks for "Seastones", "L", others). The pre-recorded tracks (effectively basic "audio scores") were an important formal component of the musical performance, providing a framework or background for improvising (and/or control and modulation signals). Like Phil, Ned's instruments had quad 4 channel outputs, but often 2 channels were lost somewhere in the PA feed mix, which converted 4 channels into 2 for the vocal system output.

Note from Ned: As parts of the "Seastones" open form composition, some of the Ned and Phil (and others) "Seastones" live performances (1973-1975) became "accreted moment forms" in the complete composition.

06-23-74 - Grateful Dead at the Jai-Alai Fronton, Miami, FL - During the set break between Set I and II, Ned and Phil perform the 'first time played' "Ned and Phil" set. Ned plays on "Ned and Phil" > "jam" > "Ship of Fools", (Ned does not play during "Big River"), "Black Peter", "Around and Around", "Dark Star" jam > "Spanish Jam" > "U.S. Blues". Ned's parents are in attendance in the audience and meet Jerry and Phil. The "Dark Star Jam" excerpt > "Spanish Jam" > "U.S. Blues" appears on disc 2, track 6 of the "So Many Roads (1965-1995)" box set. https://archive.org/details/gd1974-06-23.sdb.smith.116312.flac16

Postcard (provided free to guests) from the Colonial Hilton Inn, where the band stayed for the Providence concert. From the back of the card: "The new 125 room Hilton Inn, overlooking Narragansett Bay, features Colonial Restaurant, Innkeeper's Pantry, Cocktail Lounge, Glass Domed, year 'round pool, saunas, patio cocktail area, banquet and meeting rooms. Ample free parking. Minutes from downtown Providence, airport and travel terminals." This postcard is provided to Nedbase by Ned from his small collection of free motel postcards from the 1974 tour.

07-04-74 - Grateful Dead at Titan Stadium, University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh, Oshkosh, WI - This scheduled concert, with a fireworks show, was ultimately cancelled, but not before the band, the equipment crew, and the four "Wall of Sound" trucks had arrived in town on July 1, 1974. The concert was rescheduled for July 6, 1974, which also was eventually cancelled. Ensconced in nineteen rooms and two suites at the Pioneer Inn, the entourage took full advantage of the unscheduled time off by relaxing at the pool, drag racing the trucks through the center of town at night and being chased by the police (Ned participated), and generally winding down from the rigors of touring before leaving on the 4th of July.

Postcard from the Holiday Inn in downtown Roanoke, Virginia. From the back of the card: "159 rooms, meeting rooms to 200, "In the Star City of the South"' AC.". This postcard is provided to Nedbase by Ned from his small collection of free motel postcards from the 1974 tour.

Postcard from the Ramada Inn in Lanham, Maryland, where the band stayed for the Landover concert. From the back of the card: "168 Rooms, Color TV, Seafarer Restaurant, Mainbrace Lounge, Entertainment Nightly, Close to Capital Centre, University of Maryland, & Goddard Space Center, Banquets & Meetings to 600.". This postcard is provided to Nedbase by Ned from his small collection of free motel postcards from the 1974 tour.

"More than a few years ago I received a DVD in the mail from Steve Brown. I was quite surprised that it contained Steve's Super 8mm movies he made during the 1974 Grateful Dead tour of Europe. He only asked that I not copy or share it publicly. However, recently he gave me permission for it to be viewed on Nedbase (and on the archived Nedbase on spiritcats.com.) but not for wider distribution. Steve retains copyright and ownership. With the exception of "The Grateful Dead Movie," and a video snippet from the September 21, 1974 Paris concert, there are no other movies or videos in which I appear from those years.

I met Steve when he went to work for the newly formed Grateful Dead Records and Round Records in 1973. Steve had several roles including album recording sessions, production and promotion, live concert on-site promotion, and working on the "Mars Hotel" LP and "The Grateful Dead Movie." I remember Steve as a very nice, sincere, knowledgeable person who really cared about the band and the music, and truly helped make good things happen.

Steve's Super 8mm movies cover the 1974 Grateful Dead European tour. London's city life of the times and the Alexander Palace set up of the Wall of Sound (2:02), Munich and the Olympic Halle (4:26), band (5:37, me at 6:00 reading the Sunday Times) and family members getting on the bus and the bus ride from Munich through Luxembourg to Zurich, hanging out on the street in Geneva with Jerry, Parish, Hunter, Keith, Donna, baby Zion, Bob Matthews, and others, and then Phil, Steve, Dan Healy, and me on our drive through the high Alps and villages of Switzerland (7:25), into rural France (with castles) and on to Dijon (14:58) ending in Paris. Two additional notes come from Steve:

*It was silent 8mm so I added a soundtrack from that Summer's U.S. tour -- Springfield, MA 6-30-74.

Guest brochure from the Munich Hilton, showing the view from the Marco Polo Restaurant. Shown is one panel of the five panels which fold out to show the entire 360-degree panorama skyline. This brochure is provided to Nedbase by Ned from his small collection of free motel postcards and brochures from the 1974 tour.

The October 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20, 1974 Grateful Dead concerts at Winterland were filmed for the "Grateful Dead Movie". Ned appears in the DVD release of the "Grateful Dead Movie". There is additional footage of Ned playing in the Grateful Dead film archives.

This image from the film "Long Strange Trip" is from one of the October, 1974 shows at Winterland, probably from the 18th. Tired after performing a long show, Bob, Ned, and Jerry are sitting on the couch. Bill Graham walked in and tried to cajole the band to do a short song as an encore. The sequence appears on DVD disc two, from about 28:00 to 30:00.

Bob, Ned, and Jerry backstage after the October 18, 1974 concert at Winterland.

10-20-74 - Grateful Dead at the Winterland Arena, San Francisco, CA - Ned plays on "Ned and Phil" set. During Set II, Ned plays on "Playing in the Band" > "Drums" > "Not Fade Away" > "Drums" > "The Other One" > "Wharf Rat" > "Playing in the Band". For Set III, Ned's electric piano is left on stage right and he plays only some tunes - the "Grateful Dead Movie" archive film footage can verify which ones. Ned recalls playing on "Eyes of the World" > (partially on "Slipknot" > "Stella Blue", and "Sugar Magnolia"), and Encores 1 and 2: "Johnny B. Goode" > Mississippi Half Step Uptown Toodeloo" > "And We Bid You Goodnight". https://archive.org/details/gd1974-10-20.sbd.smith-lee.GEMS.97193.flac16

Ned, Bob, Jerry, and Phil at Winterland on October 20, 1974 (photo by Bill Magee).

Ned, Phil, Bob, and Jerry at Winterland on October 20, 1974 (photo by Bill Magee).

Jerry, Ned, Phil, and Bob at Winterland on October 20, 1974 (photo by Bill Magee).

Note from Ned:
I have been asked by several people why my Fender Rhodes 88 electric piano's cover is off, exposing the piano's "tines", which vibrate when struck by each piano key hammer mechanism, and the pickups, as can be seen in photos from Winterland October 1974 on Nedbase, and in the Paris video from 9-22-74. I almost always played it this way allowing me to play the electric piano's individual tines (like a "prepared piano"), and to facilitate feedback with my pre-amp monitor setup immediately behind me, and to sometimes create feedback with Jerry's guitar pickups when he played close to me (similar to what we did together with my clavichord on 2-18-71).

xx-xx-74 - Recording and work sessions for "Seastones" continued.

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1975

For 1975, only the Grateful Dead rehearsals that exist on recordings are listed. Other studio sessions that are undocumented or were not recorded are not listed. Ned's studio rehearsals and jamming alone with Jerry, David Crosby, and Phil are not listed and the recordings were either non-existent or are now lost. Ned was present for all the Grateful Dead "Blues For Allah" sessions until 06-17-75.

02-xx-75 - Round Records releases three samplers, one of which has "Sea Stones", the basic structure of this segment from "Seastones".

Round Records sampler with "Sea Stones" excerpt from "Seastones."

02-xx-75 to 06-xx-75 - Ned records other "Seastones" compositions, and "Seastones" electronic jams at Bob Weir's studio in Mill Valley, CA. Some of these were recorded but are now presumed lost. Recording (on 4 track and 2 track tape) and practice sessions were held at Ned's apartment in Fairfax with Jerry, David Crosby, and Phil. Some of these were recorded; they are presumed lost.

02-19-75 - Grateful Dead rehearsal at the Bob Weir studio in Mill Valley, CA - Ned plays on "Crazy Fingers" and other songs. Part of this session can be heard after the 33:00 mark on Grateful Dead Hour No. 359: Grateful Dead Hour No 359

02-27-75 - Grateful Dead rehearsal at the Bob Weir studio in Mill Valley, CA - Ned plays on "Groove #1", "Groove #2", "A To E Flat Jam", and "Proto 18 Proper". These appear as tracks 8, 9, 11, and 12 on the remastered "Blues For Allah" album that is disc 3 of the "Beyond Description (1973–1989)" box set. These also appear as tracks 8, 9, 11, and 12 on the remastered "Blues For Allah" album.

02-28-75 - Grateful Dead rehearsal at the Bob Weir studio in Mill Valley, CA - Ned plays on "Distorto" ("Crazy Fingers" jam), "Stronger Than Dirt" jams, "Girl From Ipanema" jam, "They Love Each Other" jams, and "The Music Never Stopped" jams. "Distorto" appears as track 10 on the remastered "Blues For Allah" album that is disc 3 of the "Beyond Description (1973–1989)" box set. It also appears as track 10 on the remastered "Blues For Allah" album. These sessions exist in trading circles on two CDs. http://www.archive.org/details/gd1975-02-28.sbd.smith.93779.sbeok.flac16

03-05-75 - Grateful Dead rehearsal at the Bob Weir studio in Mill Valley, CA - Ned plays on "Crazy Fingers" and other songs. Part of this session can be heard after the 33:00 mark on Grateful Dead Hour No. 359: Grateful Dead Hour No 359

03-17-75 - Scheduled Grateful Dead partial rehearsal, then "Seastones" recording session at Bob Weir's studio in Mill Valley, CA - This studio session includes Ned's "Birthday Jam" and a "Seastones" session with David Crosby. Ned and the group play on the David Crosby tunes "Low Down Payment" and "Homeward Through the Haze". They jam on Ned's tunes for a second (i.e., to be released later) "Seastones" album entitled "Make a Cat Laugh": "Running Home", "No Name", and "A Lost Soul". These sessions exist in trading circles on three CDs. https://archive.org/details/gd75-03-17.sbd.vernon.10111.sbeok.shnf

05-07-75 - Grateful Dead rehearsal at the Bob Weir studio in Mill Valley, CA - Ned with David Crosby and the Grateful Dead play "King Solomon's Marbles" (two takes of that were played on Grateful Dead Hour No. 344).

06-17-75 - Jerry Garcia and Friends at the Winterland Arena, San Francisco, CA - This concert was originally billed as "Jerry Garcia and Friends"; later listings refer to it as the Grateful Dead. Ned was included in the original billing and was to play the entire concert; he attended set up and sound check, but decided not to play.

"Seastones" at #19 on the Billboard "FM Action" chart (courtesy of Jesse Jarnow)

"Seastones" at #160 on the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart.

09-xx-75 - "Seastones" rehearsals for the upcoming concert.

09-19-75 - Palace of Fine Arts Theater, San Francisco, CA - Ned performs "Seastones" and other compositions with Phil, Jerry, and David Crosby.

Note from Ned: The recording indicates that Jerry was present and accounted for in at least in the first part of this concert. He had to leave this concert early for a Jerry Garcia Band concert in Sacramento.

11-xx-75 - "Seastones" rehearsals for the upcoming concert.

11-15-75 - Angelico Hall, Dominican College, San Rafael, CA - Ned performs "Seastones" and other compositions with Phil. Whether Jerry, David Crosby, and Mickey played is being researched.